New Perspective
by Sakurane
Summary: Ron and Lavender meet again after three years. Reality hits, and Ron sees things from the perspective of someone scarred by fate.


**Author's Note: I'm changing the ending of the Battle a little bit for this story. In my version, Hermione didn't save Lavender quite so fast (but no, she was not bitten by Greyback), and Ron never finds out about what happened to her. Until now. I'm not really sure if Lavender is OOC, because I never paid much attention to her in the books or the movies. Please read, review, tell me what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, only my own perspective!**

Sometimes, dreams did come true.

Ron Weasley was living proof of that. Not to say his life was all peaches and cream… because it certainly hadn't been since he was eleven years old. But good things happened too, despite the bad. Like being accepted into the Auror program.

Ron had devoted himself completely to his studies when he returned to Hogwarts for his seventh year (Hermione had been thrilled, of course), finding it not only a suitable distraction from sadness over Fred's death as well as everything else weighing on his mind. His grades had skyrocketed. No one could ever say that Ron wasn't a member of the Golden Trio for his intelligence, though he'd never made it apparent during their escapades. After taking the final Newts tests, he'd applied for the Auror training program and was accepted immediately. Hermione and Harry were both tremendously proud of him, which made the late nights and shots of muggle energy drinks (courtesy of Harry) worth it.

He was good at what he did. He went on plenty of missions and had a success rate far higher than the other rookies. But good things couldn't last forever. Two year and three days into his career, he was temporarily transferred to the Muggle Protective offices. A clear demotion, temporary as it was, to keep younger Aurors from underfoot as the rounded up the last Death Eaters. Suitably snubbed and angry, he stalked into work on Monday with a sour look on his face, worthy of Severus Snape. He walked to the receptionist's desk to check in and assure them that he was indeed Ronald Weasely, not an imposter.

What he hadn't expected was to be staring into the eyes of an equally stunned Lavender Brown.

_Oh, perfect! _He thought sarcastically. Just what he needed.

"Won-Won?" She asked.

"I'm not your _Won-Won_." Ron said automatically, but was distracted by the painful looking scars that traced up and down her Lavender's left cheek and jaw. They were too obvious, jutting out from her otherwise smooth skin, to be hidden by a simple glamour, which were prohibited within the Ministry, anyway. Her clothes no doubt his even more.

"Right. Sorry. It was just a habit." She glanced down, her blonde curls covering her disfigured face. "What do you need?"

"I'm working here for a few weeks." He said a little open-mouthed.

Lavender peeked up at him. "I'd heard you'd become an Auror… I always knew you could do it."

Those words made Ron's stomach turn, so like when she'd complimented and flattered his ego during their relationship. The only thing missing was the plastic grin and appeasing laugh. But now Lavender would barely look at him.

"I'll sign you in." She said, pulling a quill from the mug on the desk and writing his name in swirly letters. "It is also customary to answer a question here. It's one of my choosing, that only the Auror would know. Passwords are too unreliable."

"Uh—okay."

"Alright, then. The question will be recorded in the records, which I keep for the department. Here it is, then. Something that only you can answer: What was the signal that Ronald Weasley with his girlfriend during their sixth year every Sunday night?"

Ron reddened. She _had _to remind him of that! He left a blank note outside the girl's dormitory nearly every week as a way of telling Lavender that he wanted a snogging session with her the next night. And Lavender would always return the message with a time and those curly letters saying, _I love you._ It was bloody embarrassing… and now it was in the Ministry records!

"I want a new question." He mumbled.

"Fine. But that last one is still in the records. Your new question is… Whose name did you utter in the infirmary while you were ill during your sixth year?"

He had to admit, it was a rather clever question. If any imposter did some research, he would know that Ron had been dating Lavender at the time. Thus, logically, they would assume that it had been _her _name that he'd called out, not Hermione's. It still made him a little guilty.

"Hermione Granger." He said quietly, searching Lavender's face to see if she was offended. Not that he would be terribly upset about that, as he'd caused her plenty of grief when they were going out. But Ron didn't want to make her _cry _or anything. He was in luck, as Lavender didn't seem upset at all.

"Correct. You're free to go in, Auror Weasley." She glanced up and gave a tentative smile. "Welcome to the Muggle Protection Department."

"Thanks." He said. As he continued through the door deep into the Ministry, he couldn't resist looking back. Poor beautiful, vain, innocent Lavender.

All past disgust he'd held for the girl was gone. There was hardly any point. But he wondered how she'd gotten those scars.

It wasn't any of his business, really. They'd never been friends, he and Lavender. And he might have broken her heart, so where did Ron get off asking her something so personal?

So he kept his mouth shut.

"You wouldn't guess who I saw at the Ministry today." Ron said, his mouth full of food as usual.

"It's probably no one good, I'd expect. It never is with the Ministry." Hermione said, clearing his now-empty plate.

"Well," Ron swallowed, "I depends on your opinion, I guess."

"Who, then?"

"Lavender Brown."

Hermione was still at that. "I'd wondered what happened to her. So she's gotten a job at the Ministry…"

"Yes. As the receptionist for the Muggle Protection Department."

"I must say, it's a bit surprising."

"She's got scars now, Hermione. All over her face."

"Lavender was always so proud of her looks. She's probably ashamed." Hermione said sadly. "But she's lucky to even be alive, after what happened to her…"

"You know how she got them?"

Hermione gave him an odd look. "Of course I do. I was there when Greyback attacked her."

"She was attacked by Greyback?" Ron said, alarmed. He felt sick to his stomach, and not just because he was thinking about Lavender.

"Yes, during the Battle. I thought you knew?"

"No. No one ever told me."

"Not many people knew. She almost died in the Hospital Wing. But with everyone else so badly injured, too, no one really noticed when she slipped away later."

"Did anyone come to help her? Her family?"

Hermione shook her head. "Parvati told me that her parents were hiding out in America. They planned on taking Lavender with them during our sixth year, but she refused. She said that she had too much for her at Hogwarts. And before you get depressed, Ronald Weasley, remember that she may not have been talking about you. She had plenty of friends."

Ron gave her a grateful smile. She always knew what to say. But this time, he didn't really feel any better. She'd put herself in danger just to stay with him, and he'd broken her heart and pushed her away. Then ran off with Hermione and Harry right after. He felt like a horrible person.

_But I'm probably just being pretentious. Her world didn't revolve around me! Like Hermione said, she was probably talking about her friends…_

But all of Lavender's actions said that the only one she cared about was Ron, and she'd clung to him like a life-line.

Then she'd been maimed and nearly killed… and no one was there to protect her. Or help her through the pain.

_No wonder she ran away. She had no one when she needed comfort the most._

_ She didn't have me._

Ron knew these thoughts were getting him nowhere. But they kept circling, and the lines on Lavender's face were accusing in him mind. But what could he do about it? He couldn't just pity her, that wouldn't be right.

He'd decide when he saw her the next day.

Ron steeled himself before walking over to the desk. Lavender had her left side to him, her better side, he noticed, scribbling a note on a small piece of parchment. Her hair was up in a ponytail, revealing yet another scar running down her neck and continuing down her jumper. She pursed her lips in concentration, an expression that Ron had only ever seen on her while gazing at tea leaves.

He thought about watching her longer, but decided that was just too creepy. He cleared his throat. Lavender whirled around in her chair, her fingers jumping to her neck instinctively. When she saw who it was, she let out a breath and brought her hand down again.

"Welcome back, Auror Weasley."

"Good Morning, Lavender." He wasn't sure why he said that. One wasn't supposed to be friendly with their psycho ex-girlfriends! But in light of what Hermione had told him… he didn't have it in him to be rude to her. That was just cruel.

"There's no need to pretend that you like me, Ron. I'd just rather you were honest about the fact that you hate me."

"I don't hate you!" Ron said, affronted.

"If you say so."

"Look, I… I'm sorry about how everything went down. You didn't deserve any of it." He said uncomfortably. He wasn't sure if she knew that he wasn't only talking about him avoiding her, but also being attacked.

"I did deserve it. I was so pathetically obsessed with my appearance, and with you." Her lip twitched up again. "And now I've lost both. The heavens have a funny sense of humor, don't they? So in the end… I suppose it was my fault."

Sorrow lines were etched in her face, as visible as the raised scars.

"That's not true."

She stared at him.

"Would you, uh—Do you want to go to lunch with me today, Lavender?"

She smiled at him, the first true smile he'd seen since they'd broken up. But still, nowhere near as careless and free as before.

"Alright. If you're sure."

"I am."

"Do you mind if…" Lavender smoothed down her skirt nervously. "If I don't cast a glamour?"

Ron looked at her confusedly. "Why on earth would I care if you wear a glamour or not?"

"It's just… well, some friends I go out with prefer that I mask the scars the scars. A simple glamour and some muggle cover-up dulls the worst of it. They scare some people off. Or we just get stared at."

_Some friends. _Ron snorted. "It's _your_ body, Lavender."

"Thanks." She said, grabbing her bag from off the desk.

They walked out of the Ministry, and Ron mulled over how different she was. Not so annoying or fake. It was like she wasn't even trying anymore.

"The sandwiches here are great." Ron told her eagerly, turning her shoulder

towards a little café. There were a few people around, but it wasn't crowded.

"Food is the only thing that can get you so excited." Lavender said. Ron wasn't sure if that was a backhanded insult, or what. They sat down and the waiter gave them their menus. When he caught sight of Lavender's face, he did a double take and his mouth fell open slightly, but enough for both Ron and she to notice. She smiled at him, a smile that Ron recognized as strained, and told him that she'd like a Wizzy-Fizzy. Still staring, the waiter headed back to the kitchen.

Ron was impressed. Had it been him, he would have sent that waiter back with a broken nose, not a soda order.

"I'll get whatever you're having." She said, and put her menu to the side. "So. How have you been, Ron?"

He wasn't quite sure how to answer. He and Lavender had never really had a proper conversation when they were dating. Actually getting to _know _each other? That was just weird.

"Er, fine?"

"How's Hermione? Are you going to marry her?"

"How do you even know that we're still together?" Ron said.

"The two of you are always in the papers."

"You can't believe what reporters say."

"But you _are _still together, aren't you?"

"Yes." He admitted. "But we have no plans on getting married any time soon. We're still only kids, really. There's no need to be _that _committed so early."

"That's a mature way to think about it. Is that what Hermione said?"

"Well… yes. But it's not like I want to marry her yet, either!"

"Relax, Ron. It just sounds like her sort of rationality."

"Okay." _This is going well._

"What is she doing now?"

"Who?"

Lavender rolled her eyes. "Hermione."

"Oh. She's busy preparing to run for a position in the Ministry. On the Wizengambot. If she doesn't get that, she'll train for a teaching license."

"Where would she teach? Hogwarts doesn't have any open positions, does it?"

"Well, no. She's going to try teaching at Beauxbatons. She was offered a trial year." It was a bit of a sore subject for the two of them. Ron didn't want her so far away, but she wanted to keep her options open.

"We always knew that Hermione would do something great." Lavender said. Seeing Ron's skepticism, she continued. "No, honestly. She was always better than the rest of us. In fact, we were jealous of her most of the time. I mean, she was friends with the Boy-Who-Lived, she was a genius, she was getting special treatment from teachers—"

Ron opened his mouth the object, but her next words stopped him.

"And she always had you. But that was more _me _than the other girls."

Ron opened his mouth again several times, but didn't know what to say.

"We had a good time, didn't we, Ron? When I wasn't being a psycho-witch? I am sorry for that, you know. If I hadn't been so scared that Hermione was going to steal you away, maybe it would have lasted a little longer."

He wasn't going to tell her that it had _always _been Hermione. She had just been a momentary distraction.

_Wow. I _am _a git!_

"It's okay." He told her. "And yes, it was fun while it lasted. You taught me the important stuff."

She smiled at that. "I'll always remember you as my first and only boyfriend."

Wait, that sounded funny. "What are you talking about? You'll definitely get yourself another boy, if you haven't already."

Lavender pretended she hadn't heard him. "Do you want to be an Auror forever, Ron?"

He hadn't really thought about it before. He'd achieved his one and only goal (after defeating Voldemort, or course) but was it really a _life-long _dream? Could he really afford to have _anything _life-long?

"I don't know. I'm just taking the days as they come along… what about you?"

"Well, I'm not an Auror."

"I mean, do you have any dreams?"

"No. Not anymore. If you'd asked me three or four years ago, I could have gone on and on for hours."

"Humor me. We've got about," He cast a quick Tempus spell, "Forty minutes to spare. Think you can paraphrase a bit?"

"Why would you want to know about my old dreams?" She asked, curious.

"If you ask questions about me, shouldn't I ask some about you?"

She sniffed. "My life isn't interesting. And you didn't care about my dreams _before_."

_"_I care now."

The waiter placed a glass of soda in front of Lavender, who thanked him. His eyes narrowed again onto her scars. Ron glared to warn him off after he took their sandwich orders.

_Nasty little git. _He thought darkly.

"I wanted to be a fashion designer. And a matchmaker. And own an apothecary. And be a mother at thirty."

"An apothecary? Really?" Ron asked, genuinely surprised.

"Yes. I always enjoyed Herbology, especially because so many plants and herbs were used in divination."

He couldn't help but frown at the mention of Divination. But he did remember Lavender being particularly close to Trelawney. He shuddered at the thought of the bug-eyed weirdo.

"You… you liked Divination, didn't you?"

He felt stupid. Boyfriends (even ex-boyfriends) were supposed to know this kind of thing.

"I loved it. The idea of being able to _see _someone's future was fascinating to me. The practical application weren't so bad, either. You don't even want to _know _how many times I used divination while we were dating. Like what my lucky color was that day, what I should wear if I saw you, what days we would be cursed if we were together…"

"Interesting."

"I know you didn't ask me out to lunch to hear more about my dreams and obsessions from three years ago."

"I don't really know what to say. I mean, I'm not going to lie… I never really liked you, Lavender. I think you know that. But I'm sorry that I ever let us end up in that situation."

"My heart and feelings weren't your responsibility, Ron. I had as much control over the situation as you did. I forced myself into that position."

"But I feel like I took advantage of you!" He blurted out. She blinked.

"Why would you think that?"

"I mean.. we _did _stuff. But I didn't stop you or anything, even though I _knew _that we weren't going anywhere. And… _please _don't take this the wrong way, Lavender… but I think you just used me as a distraction from your fears. Without your parents around, you just focused all of your attention on me."

_Ha! Take _that _Hermione! Who says I have the emotional range of a teaspoon, now?_

She looked down thoughtfully. "You may be right. But I _did _have a crush on you, before I chose to stay behind at Hogwarts. It just escalated after. And how do _you _know about that?"

Ron's own fear was realized. She _had _stayed behind just to be with him. But why?

"Hermione told me a few things. But Lavender… I wasn't worth putting yourself in danger for!"

"It wasn't so big a sacrifice. Let's just say that my parents and I didn't really understand each other at that point. Sometimes, it was hard being Muggle-born. I had too much at Hogwarts."

Their conversation was halted by the return of the gitty waiter with their food. For a moment, Ron considered continuing with his questioning… but never had he ignored food on his plate before, and he wasn't about to start. They tucked in and ate with an uncomfortable silence. Plates were soon cleared away.

"What do you want to do _now, _Lavender?" Ron said.

"I'm just getting by. Just living one minute at a time."

"But what about all those dreams? Have they changed?" He insisted.

She looked directly at him. "They just seem pointless to me, now. I'm sure you've felt that way before, Ron. I'm sure all of us have. Every time I think I can forget, or at least move on, I look in the mirror. Then it all comes back to me. How life is just pointless, sometimes."

_That is _not _a healthy way to live life. _

"Do you really feel that way?" Ron somehow felt that it was his fault that Lavender was so resigned and melancholy. Now he knew how Harry felt when he was around Cho.

She bit her lip. "No. I _wish _that I could feel that removed. I just can't bring myself to care, though. That's one good thing that came from Greyback's attack. Every stupid little thing that seemed so important before… it's all been put in perspective, now. Who cares if people stare at me? They can't think anything worse about me than I've thought about myself. So why worry about it? I am who I am. Nothing's going to change it, even if I hide."

Ron marveled at how strong Lavender had become. He never would have expected it. And he realized that there was no point in feeling guilty. He probably didn't deserve to feel sorry for himself, either, which was exactly what he felt when he reflected on their past. Sure, some of it was his fault. But the reality fell on both of their shoulders. Their actions had led them down a road, and here was the fork.

"I'm really glad that we had a chance to catch up, Ron. I truly am." Lavender gave him a small smile that didn't reach her eyes. She stood up and fished some money from her purse, paying the tip, too.

"Me, too." He said honestly.

He could have asked her about Greyback. He could have asked her about her scars, or her parents. Had she ever made up with them? Had she talked with Parvati Patil again? Did she still have feeling for him? But he didn't say any of that. It was too late, or too early. Either way, it wasn't time. Maybe it never would be. And Ron decided, that was okay.

Sure, he's probably see Lavender again. Every morning until he left the department. But here was the fork. Lavender was on her feet, going one way. He sat in his chair, his thoughts wandering to Hermione.

_His girlfriend. _He was going a very different way.

Sometimes, dreams did come true.

And sometimes, they didn't.

**Author's note: I try to find music to relate to every story I tell. Sometimes to inspire me, sometimes to make me feel something. "A Wish" by Gregory and The Hawk really reflects Ron and Lavender, I think. Give it a little listen on Youtube or something.**

**Also, on a total side note, I think that "Wolf" by Fever Ray is the way to go if you're reading or writing anything about the Final Battle. Reminds me of Greyback, and the other Death Eaters.**


End file.
